Beware huge Council Tax rises for Pembrokeshire public if local authority mergers go ahead - council leader

9:40am Sunday 16th March 2014

Pembrokeshire Council Tax payers would be forking out considerably more if potential local authority boundary changes go ahead, it was said this week.

Pembrokeshire County Council Leader, Councillor Jamie Adams, has compared the Pembrokeshire Council Tax rise of 3.4 per cent to what it have been had the council been amalgamated with neighbouring local authorities, as is proposed.

Councillor Adams said he regretted the increase of 3.4 per cent, even though it was the lowest in both cash and percentage terms in Wales.

However he stressed he was also deeply concerned that the people of Pembrokeshire should understand the financial implications of the Williams Report on local government reorganisation if it is adopted by the Welsh Government.

The report suggests two possibilities: amalgamating Pembrokeshire with Ceredigion or Pembrokeshire with Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire - the so called ‘new Dyfed’ option.

Councillor Adams said: “Had I been speaking not as the Leader of Pembrokeshire County Council but as Leader of ‘new Dyfed’, the Council Tax rise for those in Band D would not have been just 3.4 per cent but a whopping 26 per cent.

“That’s an extra £193 a year to Pembrokeshire Council Tax payers. For those in Band I it would be an eye-watering £450 increase.

“Likewise, were we to be twinned with Ceredigion, the Council Tax increase would have been 15.9 per cent or £118 a year.

“I think these massive increases speak for themselves and should provide food for thought for those who advocate local government reorganisation.”